Sled



May 1, 1923.

1,453,948 J. POTTALA SLED Filed Jan. 17 1922 INVENTOR.

A TTORNE Y.

Patented May 1, 1923. I 1,453 Q omrsos'rrs PATENT ics.-

JOHN POTTA LA, OF FITCHBURG, MASSACHUSETTS.

sLnn.

Application filed January. 17, 1922. Serial No. 529,817.

To all whom it may concern; be of any. other. desired configuration and Be it known that I, JOHN POTTALA, a citiwhich operate as bracing plates for therunzen of Finland, residing at Fitchburg, in ners in addition to attaching plates for the the county of Worcester and State of springs. r l

Massachusetts, have invented certain new This arrangement of the springs conand useful Improvements in Sleds, of which nects the steering runners 5 with the fixed the following is a specification. runners and provides for them being held This invention relates to sleds and more normally in neutral position in alinement particularly to steering mechanism therefor. with said .fixed runners and yet permits them 10 The object of the invention is to provide a to be readily turned by the operator in either I sled which can be easily steered and in which direction for steering the sled.

the steering runners will be automatically The foot or seat board 7 which is mounted returned to neutral position upon release of on the front steering runners is provided the steering means. at the front end thereof with laterally ex- 15 Another object is to provide a sled having tending arms 8 which form foot rests for the apair of fixed runners with a pair of movable seat when the rider is seated 011 the sled or runners connected by coiled springs to the hand grips when he is lying flat thereon and front end of the fixed runners, the springs bewhich are designed to be used in steering ing so located as to be protected against enthe sled, it being obvious that a push on one 20 tanglement with objects over which the sled and a pull on the other will turn the sled is traveling, thereby avoiding all danger of laterally in the direction desired. the springs being broken or the sled being The front ends of the steering runners 5 accidentally steered out of its course. are preferably upturned as shown clearly in With these and other objects in view, the Figs. 1 and 2 and are equipped with longiinvention consists in certain novel features of tudinally extending slots 9 for the attach- 30 construction as hereinafter shown, described ment of a rope or cable (not shown) if it is and claimed. desired to use such for drawing the sled.

In the accompanying drawing: The mounting of the springs 10 in close Figure 1 represents a perspective view of proximity to the inner faces of the runners a sled constructed in accordance with this inavoids all danger of the same being on vention taken from one side looking down tangled with objects in the roadway such on the sled. as might tend to accidentally steer the sled Fig. 2 is a similar view with the seat out of its course or break the springs. boards removed, and, Mounted on the outer face of one of the Fig. 3 is a plan View with the seat boards rear runners 2 is a brake 15 in the form of'a removed showing the steering runners turned lever fulcrumed intermediate its ends as to one side for guiding the sled toward shown at 16 to said runner and provided at the right. its front end with a hand grip 17 and at itsrear In the embodiment illustrated, the sled end with a depending spur 18 which is decomprises a seat board 1 with a pair of runsigned to be forced into the surface over. ners 2 fixed thereto, said runners being which the sled is passing to retard the speed braced below the seat board by cross bars 3 thereof. To do this, it is obvious that the and 4 which are spaced longitudinally at hand grip 17 is grasped and that end of suitable distances apart. A pair of steering the lever moved upwardly thereby forcing runners 5 connected by cross bars 6 and a the spur 18 downwardly into contact with foot or seat board 7 are movably connected the surface over which the sled -is moving with the front ends of the fixed runners 2 by This lever 15 is so balanced that it will norheavycoiledsprings10arrangedalongtheinmally lie in the position shown in Fig. 1 nor faces of the runners as is shown clearly in and will be frictionally held in this posi- Figs. 2 and 3, said springs being secured at tion. their ends to bearing or castings 11 and 12 From the above description it will be obvicarried respectively, by the runners 2 and 5 ous that the front steering runners 5 are and which are here shown formed integral connected with the rear runners 2 avoiding 55 with diamond shaped attaching plates 13 the necessity of pivotally connecting these and 14, although obviously these plates may runners and yet reliably securing them topermitting the front runners to for steering the sled.

The connection of the front and rear sections of the sled by the coiled springs: 10 not only provides for the steering of the sled but permits these sections to move longitudinally relative to each other as well as laterally which is desirable when the sled is traveling over rough places preventing all possibility of the connections between the sections being broken and yet. return them quickly to normal position after such movement.

The preferred embodiment of the invention is disclosed in the drawings and set forth in the specification. but it will be understood that any modifications within the scope of the claimed invention may be made inthe construction without departing from get-her and turn readily the principle of the invention or sacrificing any of its advantages.

1 claim:

1. A steerable sled composed of front and rear sections and connected only by coiled springs arranged adjacent and in close proximity to one face of the runners thereof, said springs being secured at one end to the rear section and at theother to the front section.

2. A sled of the class described comprising front and rear sections, attaching plates carried byv the inner faces of the runners of said sections adjacent their opposed ends, and coiled springs connected with said plates for yieldably uniting the sections.

In testimony whereof, I affix my signature hereto. V

JOHN PQTTALA. 

